Home / Short Sales / Will you get a better deal if you work with the Listing Agent directly?

Will you get a better deal if you work with the Listing Agent directly?

Todd: Hello and welcome to Todd Miller TV. I am joined today by Oana, the exceptional Listing agent who list like a ridiculous number of properties every year. And, Oana this is a common topic. It happens in all markets, not just in our market. A buyer goes out with an agent, write some offers on properties, maybe doesn’t get them accepted, and then they decide “I’m just gonna do the research myself, look online, if I see a property I like go right to the Listing Agent ’cause that way I’ll get the property.” What are your thoughts on that?

Oana: Well, going to the Listing agent, it has a couple of problems. ;First of all, if you go to a Listing agent, that listing agent has a relationship with the seller first. So just a natural human loyalty is to seller. Not to the buyer.

Todd: Okay.

Oana: So that’s the first reaction. The second one is, if you’re looking particularly at Listing agents who list a lot of properties and maybe list a lot of properties with the same seller, the way I do where I list a lot of properties for very few institutional sellers. Then obviously my loyalty is absolutely to that institutional seller because that’s where the bulk of my business comes from. I’m only going to have a couple transactions with this buyer but I might have a couple hundred transactions with my institutional seller. So again, my first priority is to represent my institutional seller. The other issue with working with the Listing agent particularly when it comes to bank owned properties, is that listing agent tend to be very busy. bank owned properties are very demanding, we have a lot and it may take a while before they even got a hold of that Listing agent and by then maybe loose out a property because someone else has thrown an offer an has been accepted.

Todd: Okay. So the theme of what you said is they don’t have representation.

Oana: Right. That’s my biggest concern. Whenever/It doesn’t/it’s a bank owned property or not, when a listing agent is asked to also represent the buyer, it’s human nature we/no one can serve 2 masters completely. It just can’t work. So how do you divide with that loyalty? How do you, the buyer then have appropriate representation, how do you know that even no matter how diligent that listing agent is, how do you know they’re not somehow leaning more to the other side? You really can’t know that and I think in your hearts you’d always have some doubts anyway. So you’re better off having your own agent who’s only interest is in representing you the buyer. Has no other motives, just wants to do a good job for you and is dependent on your business and your future business and has no concern for the seller.

Todd: Okay. One of the thing I hear people say when I tell them that, these are consumers, is they say “yeah, but you see, that agent wants to sell the property so he’s gonna work even harder and probably even kick back some commission so that I could get a better price because that way he’ll sell the property and if I don’t go to him he’ll never sell the property.”

Oana: Two issues. One, as far as kicking back commission, why would we wanna do that? The bottom line is, a listing agreement is our nego/ in that listing agreement is our negotiate commission. I don’t even negotiate my commission. Why would I wanna re-negotiate that? And what kind of an agent do you want who will re-negotiate their own pay? If they can’t hang on to their money, how will they hang on to yours? That doesn’t make sense. The second portion that you said, you addressed the..

Todd: They may not sell the house.

Oana: They may not sell the house. Well, in our market, every house sells.

Todd: Yeah.

Oana: Okay? It will sell. Whether it sells to an investor or to an Owner-Occupant, whether is sells in the MLS, or it sells at auction, every house sells. So, the idea that I’m desperate to sell a house a “not”. My goal is to sell every house for the highest dollar for my client.

Todd: So, I pulled the numbers in, recently in the MLS and in the last 4 years, we have had about between you an I, 2,000 REOs.

Oana: Okay.

Todd: Off the top of your head, how many properties can you think of that never sold?

Oana: I’m not aware that any property didn’t sell. As far as I’m aware they’ve all sold. There’ve only been a couple instances where there were clouds on the title but those eventually sold too.

Todd: Okay. So all the houses all sell?

Oana: Oh absolutely!

Todd: Okay. If somebody comes to you and calls you on the phone says they want you to, you know, say it’s a hot property, So a buyer comes to you and says “We want to make us/make sure we can get the house. And, first of all, do you even have/let’s say of 10 offers on a property, and they’re one of them, do you have the power to make sure they get the house?

Oana: Absolutely not! I am not a principal to transaction. I am here to facilitate the transaction. So I cannot say: This person is getting the house. Absolutely not, I am not, I don’t own the house, I can’t make that decision. The seller makes that decision. And the seller’s criteria is unknown to me. Most of the time it’s based on the net, but sometimes it’s based on things I’m not privy to.

Todd: Oaky. Good. That answers the question. Wanna thank you for your insight. For being on the show. Keep in mind that you ca subscribe to the blog everytime that we do a video you’ll be able to/just put your e-mail address in there, you’ll be able to get a notification everytime and keep informed. So that was the update for today and hope to see you on another video. Thanks!